Progress in Gender Equality in Sports, But Still a Long Way to Go

The sports world has made significant strides in recent years, with women taking on more leadership roles and advocating for better policies. This has resulted in record attendance and media coverage of women’s sporting events, as well as increased attention to issues such as pay equity and violence and abuse against women in sports. However, despite this progress, barriers and gender bias still persist in the sports industry.

A survey conducted by the Sport Integrity Global Alliance in 2023 found that only 26.9 percent of executive positions in international sport federations are held by women, and only three out of 31 International Sports Federations have women in top leadership positions. This highlights the need for continued efforts to increase gender diversity within the sports industry.

On a positive note, the gender diversity of the International Olympic Committee has been improving, with 41 percent of members being female and more diversity in terms of age and regional representation. Additionally, the IOC has achieved gender-equal representation on its commissions, marking a historic high and a 100 percent increase since 2013. This is an important step towards achieving greater gender equality within the sports industry.

However, there is still a significant gender gap when it comes to coaching and leadership roles within athletes’ entourages. Despite advancements, the representation of women in leadership roles such as Chef de Mission, Technical Official, and coach remains low. For example, at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, only 13 percent of coaches were women. In order to truly achieve gender equality within the sports industry, efforts must continue to be made to increase gender diversity and opportunities for women in leadership roles.